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Nelly Sachs

ネリー・ザックス

Nerī Zakkusu

Aliases: Leonie Sachs

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1891-12-10 （Berlin-Schöneberg, German Empire）
Died
1970-05-12 （Stockholm, Sweden） age 78
Nationality
German, Swedish
Languages
German, Swedish
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Berlin (birthplace; early life) → Stockholm (emigration; place of death)

Career

Occupations
poet, playwright
Active Years
1910-1970
Influenced By
Gertrud Kolmar, Else Lasker-Schüler, German Romanticism
Influenced
Postwar German-language poets (e.g., Hans Magnus Enzensberger)

Education

Home education
Period: 幼少期〜青年期（家庭での教育）
Country: Germany
Educated at home during childhood due to frail health

Awards

Nobel Prize in Literature
1966
Organization: Swedish Academy (Nobel Prize)
Result: 受賞
Droste-Preis
1960
Organization: Droste-Preis (awarding body)
Result: 受賞
Nelly Sachs Prize
1961
Organization: City of Dortmund (Nelly Sachs Prize)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Eli: A Mystery Play of Israel's Suffering (Eli: Ein Mysterienspiel vom Leiden Israels)

1950 Drama (verse play)

A verse play that symbolically depicts the suffering and yearning of the Jewish people after the Holocaust, using layered religious and symbolic imagery.

atonementsufferingJewish fatereligious symbolism
Adaptations
  • [opera] Eli (opera by Walter Steffens) / Walter Steffens (作曲) (1967)
Translations
  • Eli (English translation)

In the Houses of Death (In den Wohnungen des Todes)

1947 Poetry collection

An early collection that poetically expresses grief and loss stemming from the Holocaust, repeatedly using images of death, dust, and fragmentation.

lossash/dustmemory
Translations
  • O the Chimneys: Selected Poems (English translation, 1967)

Flight and Metamorphosis (Flucht und Verwandlung)

1959 Poetry collection

A collection addressing exile and metamorphosis, centered on images of loss, renewal, and a drifting subject.

exilemetamorphosisrenewal
Translations
  • Flight and Metamorphosis (English translation, 2022)

Signs in the Sand (Zeichen im Sand)

1962 Poetry collection

A collection of poetic fragments that explore signs and traces, featuring motifs of memory and disappearance.

tracesmemorydisappearance

Bibliography

  • Legenden und Erzählungen (Legends and Tales), 1921
  • In den Wohnungen des Todes (In the Houses of Death), 1947
  • Sternverdunkelung (Eclipse of Stars), 1949
  • Eli (Eli: Ein Mysterienspiel vom Leiden Israels), 1950
  • Flucht und Verwandlung (Flight and Metamorphosis), 1959
  • Fahrt ins Staublose (Journey into the Dustless Realm), 1961
  • Zeichen im Sand (Signs in the Sand), 1962
  • Suche nach Lebenden (Search for the Living), 1971

Adaptations

  • Eli (opera by Walter Steffens, premiered 1967)

Translations of Works

  • O the Chimneys: Selected Poems, Including the Verse Play, Eli (English translation, 1967)
  • The Seeker and Other Poems (English translation, 1970)
  • Flight and Metamorphosis (English translation, 2022)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
intensely lyricaluse of symbolic and religious imagerycompressed poetic language and fragmentary expression
Recurring Motifs
dust/ashstarsbreathstones/jewelsblooddancersfish out of water (suffering)madnesslost love

Health

  • Psychotic episodes (hallucinations, delusions, paranoia)
    母親死後の数年〜晩年にかけて
    Required hospitalization and treatment but continued writing; mental health remained fragile throughout later life.
  • Colorectal cancer
    1969–1970
    Cause of death in 1970.

Legacy

Nelly Sachs gained international recognition for poetry and drama engaging with the Holocaust and Jewish suffering; she was awarded the 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature. Her symbolic, lyrical language influenced modern poetry. Awards and memorials (including the Nelly Sachs Prize) and archival holdings (e.g., National Library of Sweden) preserve her legacy.

Archives

  • National Library of Sweden (Kungliga biblioteket) holdings
  • Leo Baeck Institute (New York) — Nelly Sachs Collection (AR 3991)

In Popular Culture

  • Commemorative plaques and parks (Nelly Sachs Park) in Berlin and Stockholm

Quotes

  • I represent the tragedy of the Jewish people. Agnon represents Israel.
    Source: Nobel Prize banquet speech / remarks (1966) (1966)
  • When the great terror came, I fell dumb.
    Source: Line from her poetry (reflecting on Nazi terror)

Trivia

  • Born Leonie Sachs.
  • She and her mother fled to Sweden in 1940, escaping on one of the last flights out of Nazi Germany before deportation.
  • Her possessions were donated to institutions such as the National Library of Sweden.